Here we journey via the Way Back Machine into the exploits of Blue Jays in All Star Games past...
The Blue Jays, once upon a time, were a hopeless case, sending players to the game because everyone gets to send a player. You know, just like Tampa Bay is today. That all changed after a while.
1977 - The first Blue Jay all-star was Ron Fairly (.302, .396, .502, 13 HR, 45 RBI at the Break). He was in the 20th season of a fine career spent mostly with the Dodgers and Expos. Fairly came up to pinch hit in a key situation: the bases were loaded with two out, and the AL was trailing 5-3. Tom Seaver struck him out.
1978 - George Brett and Graig Nettles ranked ahead of Roy Howell (.293, .346, .396) on the AL depth chart: Howell was a decent LH line drive hitter, who was not exactly the slickest defender who ever played the hot corner. He came up to pinch-hit against Steve Rogers in the fourth inning. The score was tied at 3-3, there were two out and runners on the corners. He grounded out to first.
1979 - The Jays had a player in uniform, but Dave Lemanczyk (7-7, 3.33) didn't get into the game. Like Fairly and Howell before him, he did very little the rest of the season.
1980 - A 23 year old pitcher in his first full major league season made the first of his seven All-Star teams. Dave Stieb (7-6, 3.10) came into the game with the AL trailing 3-2 in the 7th inning. He may have been a little nervous: Ken Griffey led off with a single. Stieb got Dave Concepcion to hit into a force out. However, Concepcion moved to second on a Stieb wild pitch. Gary Carter grounded out, but Stieb walked Ray Knight as Concepcion took third on a passed ball. Knight stole second, and Stieb delivered his second wild pitch of the inning, allowing Concepcion to score. Phil Garner walked and stole second, before Stieb got George Hendrick on a flyout to end an eventful inning. Like all previous Blue Jays all-stars, Stieb had a rough second half.
1981 - The players went on strike in June 1981, and the All-Star Game was played immediately after they returned to work. The Blue Jays were a pitiful 16-42 in the first half, but someone had to represent them and Dave Stieb (4-7, 3.30) got the call. The AL took a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning, but Rollie Fingers gave up a a couple of walks, a two-run homer to Mike Schmidt, a single, and committed an error. Stieb came in with two out and a runner on second. He retired Andre Dawson and Bruce Bendict to end the inning. Stieb worked a scoreless ninth, and then found himself forced to bat against Bruce Sutter in the bottom of the inning because Jim Frey had run out of position players. He struck out, of course. After the Game, Stieb put together a very fine second half, and the hapless Blue Jays actually contended for the second-half championship.
1982 - Stieb was, without a doubt, the best pitcher in the American League in 1982, but he was 7-10 3.96 at the All-Star Break and didn't get an invite. Diamond Jim Clancy (7-7, 3.56) got the call instead. Clancy entered the game in the fourth inning, with the AL already down 3-1, and worked a tidy three-up and three-down inning.
1983 - Harvey Kuenn tapped Dave Stieb (10-7, 2.54) as his starter, making him the first Blue Jay ever to start in an All-Star Game. Stieb had lost his three previous starts, and this one got off to a rocky beginning. Stieb's own error put leadoff man Steve Sax on first; he came around to score on Rod Carew's error. Stieb issued a walk to Al Oliver, but got out of the inning by striking out Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy, and Mike Schmidt to end the inning. He cruised for another two innings, retiring all six batters he faced, and was the winning pitcher as the AL scored 9 in the first three innings and broke off the NL's 11 game winning streak.
1984 - Dave Stieb (9-3, 2.42) made his second straight All-Star Game start. For the first time, there were team mates on hand. Damaso Garcia (.303, .329, .394) was named to the team as a reserve by manager Joe Altobelli, and when Alan Trammell came up lame, Garcia's game guest, Alfredo Griffin (.241, .250, .317) got to suit up as well. Yes, a man with an OPS of .567 played in an All-Star Game. Stieb gave up an unearned run in the first - Steve Garvey singled and took second on Reggie Jackson's error. Garvey tried to score on Dale Murphy's single to left, but Dave Winfield threw him out easily. But Lance Parrish mishandled the throw for another error. Stieb gave up a solo HR to Gary Carter in the next inning, and left after two, trailing 2-1. Garcia replaced Lou Whitaker at second base in the 6th inning and popped out in his only at bat. Griffin replaced Cal Ripken at short in the same innning, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter (Don Mattingly) before coming to bat.
1985 - The Blue Jays were in first place at the All-Star Break, and four of them got to go to Minnesota. Dave Stieb (9-5, 1.87) and Damaso Garcia (.282, .305, .369) were both back, and they were joined by Ernie Whitt (.279, .346, .498, 10 HR, 37 RBI) and Jimmy Key (7-4, 2.85). Key was the first into the game, coming in as a LOOGY in place of Jack Morris with two out and the bases loaded in the third. He got Graig Nettles to foul out and was lifted for a pinch-hitter. The other three all came into the game in the sixth inning: Garcia replaced Lou Whitaker, Whitt took over for Carlton Fisk, and Stieb replaced Bert Blyleven on the mound. Stieb worked a scoreless inning, walking Jose Cruz and striking out Ryne Sandberg and Nolan Ryan. Whitt caught a couple of innings before being pinch-hit for by Gary Ward. Garcia flied out in his first at bat against Ryan, but later recorded the first Blue Jay base hit in an All-Star game, with a single against Jeff Reardon. Damo promptly stole second, but was out trying to make it to third after Jim Sundberg's throw got away.
1986 - Three young stars made their All-Star debuts in 1986: Jesse Barfield (.296, .373, .563, 21 HR, 65 RBI), Lloyd Moseby (.277, .358, .444, 13 HR, 49 RBI), and Tony Fernandez (.316, .351, .434). All three saw some action. Barfield pinch-hit for Dave Winfield in the fourth, and became the third of Fernando Valenzuela's five straight strikeout victims. He played RF for the rest of the game, striking out against Mike Scott in the seventh and grounding out against Mike Krukow in the ninth. Moseby replaced Rickey Henderson in LF in the sixth, and batted against Sid Fernandez in the eighth with Kirby Puckett on first. Moseby walked, and he and Puckett then worked a double steal. Fernandez replaced Cal Ripken at short for the ninth inning.
1987 - The Blue Jays sent three players again: Tony Fernandez(.310, .380, .429) returned, and he was joined by first-time All Stars Tom Henke (0-4, 2.81 with 17 SV) and George Bell (.293, .322, .609, 29 HR, 76 RBI). Bell was the first Blue Jay ever voted to the starting lineup by the fans. Bell went hitless in three at-bats, grounding out twice and popping out before coming out after six innings. Fernandez replaced Cal Ripken at short in the sixth. He ended up coming to the plate three times, going 0-2 with a sac bunt. Henke relieved Dave Righetti in the 9th with one out and Tim Raines on third base. He retired Juan Samuel and Jeff Leonard to get out of the jam, and when the AL couldn't score in the bottom half, found himself pitching an additional two innings. He allowed a single to Keith Hernandez in the 10th and another to Tim Raines in the 11th, before handing the ball to Jay Howell, who lost the game two innings later.
1988 - Tom Kelly took only one Blue Jay to Cincinnati, and it was Dave Stieb (10-5, 2.93), who had regained his form after a couple of sub-par seasons. Stieb worked a scoreless sixth with the AL leading 2-1, allowing a one-out single to Ryne Sandberg.
1989 - He wasn't really having a good year after being beaned by Cecilio Guante in April, but Tony Fernandez (.259, .292, .360) made it to his third All-Star game, and he was joined by a first-timer, Kelly Gruber (.308, .356, .442, 9 HR, 43 RBI). Gruber was the only AL position player who didn't get into the game. Fernandez ran for Cal Ripken in the fifth and played the rest of the game at short. He grounded out against Jay Howell in his one at bat.
1990 - Kelly Gruber (.296, .353, .561, 20 HR, 66 RBI), having the year of his life, was back for the second time, and so was George Bell (.278, .319, .486, 17 HR, 60 RBI), in his final Toronto season. They were joined by Dave Stieb (11-3, 3.15), making his seventh and final All-Star team. Stieb was the first man out of the AL pen, taking over for Bob Welch in the third inning of a scoreless game. He worked two tidy innings, allowing only a walk to Tony Gwynn. In the sixth inning, Gruber ran for Wade Boggs and Bell batted for Cal Ripken after a Canseco walk. Bell struck out against Dave Smith, but Gruber and Canseco pulled off a double steal. They stayed in the game, at 3B and LF. Bell flied out to right against Randy Myers in his other at bat. Gruber drew a walk against Rob Dibble and stole another base in the seventh; in his final at bat, he flied out against John Franco.
1991 - They played the game in Toronto, and new acquisition Roberto Alomar (.283, .353, .445) was the starting second-baseman. Alomar had played in the 1990 game as a Padre, for this one he was joined by Joe Carter (.302, .362, .564, 19 HR, 59 RBI) who had accompanied Alomar from San Diego, and Jimmy Key (10-4, 2.23). Alomar played the entire game, but went hitless in four at bats. Key replaced Jack Morris in the third inning with the AL down 1-0, and worked a scoreless inning, allowing a double to Ryne Sandberg. Key became the pitcher of record when the AL struck for three rus against Dennis Martinez in the bottom half, and got the win when they held on to the lead for the rest of the game. Carter took over in LF for Rickey Henderson in the fourth. He walked against Frank Viola in his first plate appearance. In the seventh, Carter singled against John Smiley and eventually scored on a Harold Baines sac fly. It had taken a while, but a Blue Jay had finally scored a run in an All-Star game.
1992 - Both Roberto Alomar (.323, .412, .460) and Joe Carter (.274, .322, .512, 19 HR, 63 RBI) were voted to the starting lineup, and Tom Kelly added Juan Guzman (11-2, 2.11) to the pitching staff. Alomar played the first three innnings and grounded out against Tom Glavine to start the game. Glavine gave up hits to the next seven hitters before getting out of the inning. Alomar singled off Glavine to lead off the second, stole both second and third, and scored on Carter's second hit. He grounded out against David Cone in his final at bat. Carter's first inning single off Glavine loaded the bases, and he later scored on Ripken's hit. Carter drove in Alomar from third with a base hit in the second before being retired by Bob Tewksbury and leaving the game. Guzman pitched the third inning, with the AL leading 6-0. He fanned Ryne Sandberg and Benito Santiago before getting into a spot of trouble. Larry Walker singled, followed by an Ozzie Smith and a walk to Tony Gwynn. Guzman got Barry Bonds on a pop up to end the inning.
1993 - No fewer than seven of the reigning champion Blue Jays went to Baltimore. Once more, both Roberto Alomar (.308 .392 .458) and Joe Carter(.265, .317, .522, 18 HR, 65 RBI ) had been voted to the starting lineup. They weren't the only ones, as they were joined by DH Paul Molitor(.307, .390, .448), in his fifth All-Star Game but his first as a Blue Jay, and 1B John Olerud(.395, .492, .671). Manager Cito Gaston also took along Duane Ward(1-2, 2.17, 22 SV), Devon White(.289, .355, .489), and Pat Hentgen (11-4, 3.54). White was probably the most controversial selection, as his inclusion essentially meant he was being taken instead of Rickey Henderson, who was having a typical Rickey season (.307, .462, .502 with 59 R and 28 SB). Alomar became the first Blue Jay to hit an All-Star homer, when he went deep off Andy Benes to tie the game in the third. He grounded out in his other two at bats. Carter also went 1-3, with a single against Benes. Olerud grounded out twice before leaving the game, while Molitor went 0-1 with a walk. Devon White took over for Ken Griffey in the sixth inning. He promptly justified his inclusion by hitting an RBI double off Steve Avery. He came around to score on a Smoltz wild pitch. He reached later on a fielder's choice and stole second. Pat Hentgen (and Mike Mussina) didn't get into the game: Duane Ward retired the side in order to close out the AL win, striking out Gregg Jefferies and Mike Piazza.
1994 - The fans voted Roberto Alomar (.313, .382, .461) to start at 2b for the fourth straight year, and Joe Carter (.270, .315, .528, 19 HR, 80 RBI) was voted to man an outfield position for the third year in a row. Cito Gaston this time brought along just two of his Blue Jays, Paul Molitor (.342, .415, .507) and Pat Hentgen (11-5, 3.16). After grounding out twice, Alomar singled off Doug Drabek, stole second, and scored on a Griffey single. Carter lined into a double play, flied out, and then reached on a three-base error by Matt Williams and scored the game's tying run on a Puckett single. Both came out of the game at that point. Molitor had grounded out while pinch-hiting for starter Jimmy Key in the third. Pat Hentgen worked the seventh inning, with the AL ahead 7-5. He allowed a leadoff single to Jeff Bagwell, but got Wil Cordero hit into a DP and Tony Gwynn to ground out.
1995 - No starters this time, although Roberto Alomar (.316, .375, .523) went to his fifth straight game. He pinch-ran for starting 2B Carlos Baerga in the 6th inning, and instantly stole third base. He was stranded there, and stayed in to play second for the rest of the game. He flied out against Heathcliff Slocumb in his only at bat.
1996 - With Alomar in Baltimore, Joe Carter (.284, .352, .556, 20 HR, 70 RBI) returned to carry the Blue Jay banner. He replaced Kenny Lofton in CF in the seventh and singled off Todd Worrell in his only at bat.
1997 - The Jays had the reigning Cy Young winner in Pat Hentgen (8-6, 3.27) and the man who would win it for the next two seasons, Roger Clemens (13-3, 1.69). Both got to pitch in the game. With the AL up 1-0, Clemens worked a scoreless third, allowing a single to Jeff Blauser. It was still 1-0 when Hentgen set down the NL in order in the sixth.
1998 - The only Blue Jay invited was Cy Young winner Roger Clemens (9-6, 3.55), who relieved starter David Wells in the third inning of a scoreless game, and had a tough outing. He walked Larry Walker and gave up a single to Walt Weiss; Glavine's sac bunt moved the runners to second and third. Clemens hit Craig Biggio to load the bases and Tony Gwynn delivered a two run single to put the NL on top before Rocket got McGwire and Bonds to end the inning.
1999 - In his third Toronto tour, Tony Fernandez (.372, .464,
.514) was hitting .400 until late June. He replaced Cal Ripken at 3B in
the fifth inning and went hitless in his two at bats. But he wasn't the
only one! I had completely forgotten, but other Bauxites had vivid memories of Shawn Green (.327,
.409, .638, 25 HR, 70 RBI) playing in this All-Star Game: John Northey
reports that "He came in defensively for Manny Ramirez in the 4th inning
and had an infield single (to second) in the 5th and was out in a force
play by Tony Fernandez. He was lifted defensively in the 7th for
Magglio Ordonez."
2000 - Three Blue Jays got the call, and a great first half by David Wells (15-2, 3.44) won him the starting assignment ahead of Pedro Martinez. Both Carlos Delgado (.363, .476, .709, 28 HR, 80 RBI) and Tony Batista (.289, .328, .571, 24 HR, 72 RBI) went to their first All-Star games. Wells worked a pair of scoreless innings, allowing singles to Chipper Jones and Jim Edmonds. Delgado replaced Mike Sweeney at 1B in the fourth, and in his one at bat hit a double off Darryl Kile. Batista struck out pinch-hitting for Troy Glaus in the eighth and finished the game at third base.
2001 - Middle relievers have not normally been strong All-Star candidates, but Paul Quantrill (7-2, 2.13) did have a remarkable year in 2001. He had issued just 6 BB when the All-Star Break came along, and 4 of those had been intentional. He came in to work the sixth inning with the AL holding a 2-0 lead, and was immediately touched up for a double by Jeff Kent. After an Aurilia ground out, Lance Berkman singled to put runners on the corners. Mike Stanton relieved Quantrill and stranded one of his two base runners.
2002 - Roy Halladay (9-4, 3.06) made his All-Star debut in Milwaukee, and was the first man on in relief of starter Derek Lowe, with the AL already trailing 1-0. Doc got roughed up in his one inning of work. After Jimmy Rollins led off with a single, Halladay got Luis Gonzalez and Jose Vidro for the first two outs. Rollins had moved up to second on the Gonzalez ground-out and he scored when Todd Helton singled. That brought Barry Bonds to the plate, and he hit one off the facing of the upper deck to put the NL up 4-0. Doc struck out Sammy Sosa, and called it a night.
2003 - The fans voted Carlos Delgado (.314, .426, .633, 27 HR, 95 RBI) into the starting lineup at 1B; he was the first Blue Jay to win a fan vote since Alomar and Carter in 1994. He was joined by Roy Halladay (13-2, 3.41) and, making his All-Star debut, Vernon Wells (.299, .338, .556, 23 HR, 84 RBI). Halladay didn't get into this game, but Wells would play a key role in its outcome. Delgado played the first five innings, and made his initial mark with his glove, as he made a nice catch on Gary Sheffield's pop up, reaching into into the seats beyond the camera well. At the plate, he flied out against starter Jason Schmidt in the first, delivered an RBI single off Randy Wolf to produce the game's first run in the third, and struck out against Russ Ortiz in the fifth. Wells came in as a pinch-runner for Hideki Matsui in the fourth and replaced him in centrefield. In his first at bat, he flied out to deep centre against Woody Williams in the sixth. Then in the 8th, with two out and the AL trailing 6-4, Wells doubled off Eric Gagne to score Melvin Mora. He then scored himself when Hank Blalock followed with the go-ahead homer.
2004 - It was tough to find an All-Star during the Season From Hell; in the end Ted Lilly (7-6, 4.27) got the call. He came on in the sixth with the AL leading 9-4, and gave up singles to Moises Alou and Mark Loretta to start his inning of work. He got out of it by retiring Carlos Beltran on a popup, Jack Wilson on a line drive, and JimThome on strikes.
2005 - Two were called, but only one could attend. Roy Halladay (12-4, 2.41) was named to the team, and was set to start the game for the AL before a broken leg knocked him out of the lineup. That left just Shea Hillenbrand (.302, .364, .451) to actually play in the game. He came in to play third base for Melvin Mora in the eighth inning, and fielded a couple of ground balls, but didn't make it up to the plate.
2006 - Five Blue Jays were named to the squad - outfielders Vernon Wells (.311, 377, .594 with 21 HR and 66 RBI) and Alex Rios (.330, .383, .585 with 15 HR, 53 RB), third baseman Troy Glaus (.241, .342, .518 with 23 HR, 60 RBI) and pitchers Roy Halladay (12-2, 2.92) and B.J. Ryan (1-0, 0.84, 24 SV). Alas, a staph infection meant that Rios was unable to take part in the fun. Wells, however, moved into the starting lineup in CF when fan choice Manny Ramirez couldn't make the show. Wells went 1-2 (a 5th inning single against Bronson Arroyo) before being replaced by Gary Matthews. Halladay was the secoind AL pitcher called upon, with the score tied at 1-1 after two innings. Doc allowed three hits and a run in his two innings of work - Soriano singled and stole second, and tried to score on Beltran's single but Wells gunned him out at home. However Beltran took second on the throw, promptly stole third base and scored on a Halladay wild pitch. Which made the Doc the pitcher of record to lose the game, if the NL's lead held up. It held up until the ninth inning. Troy Glaus had replaced Alex Rodriguez at 3b in the sixth inning, and hit into a DP his first time up. He batted again, with two out in the ninth and Seatlle's Jose Lopez on first base. Glaus hit a ground rule double against Trevor Hoffmann and he and Lopez both scored on Michael Young's two run single, giving the AL a 3-2 lead, getting Doc off the hook, and placing B.J. Ryan in line for the W. Ryan had retired the side in order in the righth inning, and after Mariano Rivera worked around a Lopez error in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan became the third Blue Jay hurler to win an All Star game.
2007 - Alex Rios (.294, .350, .520 with 17 HR, 53 RBI) was the only Jay was named to the team, and he came very close to not getting into this game as well. Rios finally appeared as part of a double switch, coming into the game along with Francisco Rodriguez with two out in the ninth inning. The AL was clinging to a 5-4 lead and the tying run was on first. K-Rod walked the first two men he faced to load the bases, but then got Aaron Rowand to fly out to Rios in RF for the game's final out.
2008 - Roy Halladay (11-6, 2.71) was the only Jay who went to Yankee Stadium for the Josh Hamilton HR Derby. Doc worked a quiet fourth inning in what was still scoreless game, fanning Berkman, allowing a single to Pujols (thrown out by Suzuki trying to turn it into a double) and getting Chipper Jones on a groundout.
2009 - Two Jays made the trip to St. Louis, and both were in the starting lineup. Aaron Hill (.292, .333, .487, with 20 HR, 60 RBI) was filling in for fan choice Dustin Pedroia, and Roy Halladay (10-3, .285) was finally getting his first All Star game start. The AL gave Doc a quick 2-0 lead, but with two out in the second, the NL rallied with four straight hits - singles by Wright and Victorino, a two run single by Yadier Molina and a ground rule 2B by Fielder. Once again, he was on the hook to lose the game, but the AL tied it up in the fifth and won it on a Granderson 3b and Jones sac fly in the eighth. Hill stayed in until the eighth inning, and went 0-3.
2010 - Three Blue Jays made the trip to Disneyland - outfielders Vernon Wells (.265, .319, .524 with 19 HR) and Jose Bautista (.237, .361, .563 with 24 HR, 56 RBI), and catcher John Buck (.272, .306, .502), who was replacing the injured Victor Martinez. Bautista pinch ran for Josh Hamilton in the bottom of the sixth and replaced him in RF for the rest of the game, fouling out in his only plate appearance. Wells and Buck had already entered the game in the top half of the inning. Buck, who had replaced Joe Mauer behind the plate, hit a double off Wainwright in the seventh, and came up again in the ninth inning with one out, the AL trailing 3-1, and David Ortiz on first base. Buck hit what should have been a single to RF, except that Marlon Byrd forced Ortiz at second base. Wells had taken over for Crawford in LF in the sixth inning and grounded out
in his only plate appearance. He was in the on-deck circle when Kinsler flied out to end the game.
2011 - Two Blue Jays made the trip to Phoenix last year. Ricky Romero (7-8, 3.09), like so many first time All Star pitchers, was just along for the ride and didn't get into the game. After a Ruthian first half, Jose Bautista (.334, .468, .702 with 31 HR, 65 RBI) was the fan's choice to start the game in RF. And being Jose, he competed. First he made a sliding catch in foul territory off the bat of Brian McCann. In the fourth inning, he singled in his second plate appearance and tried to score from second on Beltre's two out single. He was out at home after a fine throw by Hunter Pence - the NL promptly went took the lead in the next half inning, and held it the rest of the way, giving the Cheapest Win Possible to Tyler Clippard, who had faced one batter (Beltre) and allowed a hit.
2012 - Jose Bautista (.244, .360, .540 with 27 HR, 65 RBI ) was the fan's choice as a starting outfielder. He struck out and walked in his two plate appearances. He was far busier chasing down the numerous blasts the NL sluggers deposited in the RF corner, and distinguished himself with a fine sliding catch on Braun's sinking liner in the second.
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